Exploitation Emancipation
by timeywimeyspaceywacey
Summary: After Bloodwing's death at the hands of Handsome Jack, Mordecai is hell-bent on revenge. The Vault Hunter is more than willing to help him get it. Follows the side quest 'Animal Rights'.


Sleep had evaded him for days upon days, and when Mordecai felt a presence hovering above him, he knew that it would continue to do so. His eyelids flew open, and as he rubbed heavily at his throbbing temples, he let out a groan.

"What do you want, Vault Hunter?" he asked as he swung his legs over the edge of his bunk, brushing past the woman who had been staring at him as he slept. "I was trying to sleep, you know," he continued, yanking open a drawer, rummaging for a shirt to pull down over his head. He shot a furtive glance at the nearby clock, sighing when he saw the time. It was five in the morning.

She opened her mouth to reply before quickly snapping it shut, obviously thinking better of what she had been going to say. After a few seconds of strained silence, she spoke. "I'm really sorry about your bird. My condolences," she said finally, painfully aware of how cold and insincere her words sounded. She had never been good at this sort of thing. "I know she meant a lot to you."

Mordecai let out a hoarse, bitter laugh, reaching for the lager that had been resting on a nearby desk, settling into the chair behind him. He rocked back and forth, rusted springs creaking in protest, the sound penetrating the uncomfortable silence. "Oh, you're really sorry, huh? If you were really sorry, you would've brought me the booze, but it looks like you took it to Moxxi instead," he replied, jerking his head towards the vivid weapon she carried. "Rubi is a damned good gun; I can't say that I blame you for choosing Moxxi over me."

Her hand flew instinctively to her hip, and as her fingers skimmed across Rubi's surface, she felt the tiniest twinge of guilt, her normally stoic, impassive expression fading into a deep frown. He was obviously shattered, torn to pieces by what Jack had done to Bloodwing, but she found herself shaking her head. "No," she said firmly, shaking her head even harder. "The gun had nothing to do with it."

"Then what was it?"

"You're an alcoholic, and I don't want to be an enabler."

He had been raising the dark brown bottle to his lips for another swig when she replied, and her harsh words caused him to stop mid sip. Slamming the bottle down on the table, he couldn't help but laugh. She was so much like Roland, with her brusque, business-like attitude, and her bumbling awkward attempts at sincerity and affection. "Are you a Siren?"

Shaking her head, she pulled up the sleeve of her dusty canvas overcoat, revealing bare flesh below, with nothing save for a few freckles. No sign of a tattoo that would identify her as a Siren. "No, I'm not. I'm a Commando," she added, shoulders stiffening, chest puffing out ever so slightly as she swelled with pride.

"A Commando, huh? Well, that explains a lot about you, chica," he chuckled, returning to the bottle he had abandoned.

She frowned, reaching up to rub at the jagged, horizontal scar that raced across the bridge of her nose, splaying out across her cheeks. "What do you mean by that? What does it explain? I don't understand."

He laughed again, mainly because her frustration was becoming mildly hilarious to him. "Nothing, amiga. Don't worry about it." He paused, a question creeping into his mind, one that he hadn't ever thought to ask. He didn't know if Lilith or Roland had either. "What's your name, Vault Hunter?"

"Theodora," she sighed, wrinkling her nose at the name, briefly wondering why the hell her parents had chosen to give her such a grandmotherly name. "But you can call me Theo."

"Well then, Theo," he replied, languidly stretching out his arms as he reached for another lager, snatching up the glass bottle with dexterous fingers. "If you're really sorry about Bloodwing, perhaps you can help me out."

"Yes, I am truly sorry about what Jack did," she reiterated, folding her arms over her chest. "What do you want me to do?"

"Well," he began, forming a tent with his fingers. "You remember all of those animals that Jack had locked up in the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve, right?" He paused, watching as she gave a quick nod, and then continued. "You saw everything they did to those animals, the things that they did to my… to my Bloodwing," he added, voice thick as he unexpectedly choked up. Recently, speaking of or thinking about his beloved companion brought a lump to his throat, one that he just couldn't swallow, no matter how hard he tried.

"Yes, I remember. Doing slag experimentation on them, I believe. I didn't stop to listen to their ECHOs or look at any notes." A few glances at the animals tucked away in their enclosures had left her with the desire to remain blissfully ignorant. "What do you need me to do?"

"I want you to get in there and free some of the animals that that Hyperion has been experimenting on, and I want you to make sure that their keepers die screaming. They're going to pay for what they did to Bloodwing, and to all of those other animals. Do this, and I might just sleep a little better at night."

She hesitated, remaining silent, before giving him a brief nod, her preferred method of assent. "I can do that. Is there anything I need to know?"

"Try and keep the animals alive," he added, tossing aside yet another empty bottle. She flinched as it landed on the desk behind him with a loud clatter. "Oh, and one more thing."

"Yes?"

"I'm comin' with ya, chica."

* * *

_A/N: What went down in the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve, was… yeah. Just terrible, and it left me with this all-consuming, burning hatred for Jack and it always leaves me wanting to kill him even more. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this – this isn't going to be too crazy long, just a few chapters or so in the Preserve. I've had some Mordecai bouncing around in my head for a while now (I always figured he'd be dying to get in there and tear these keepers and the whole place apart), and now that I'm taking a break from my Elder Scrolls work, I decided now was the time to get it out. Anyway, I hope you liked!_


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